Letter: Nation's tax policies are an absolute mess

Nation's tax policies are an absolute mess

It's clear that many do not know that the government's intention to encourage investments resulted in a lower tax rate on investments than that on earned income. Private investments are critical to a thriving economy.The reason Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary is because his money is invested, which is also why some have said Buffett should pay her in stocks (she earns about $200,000 a year). Mitt Romney's tax rate, given as 14 percent on the news, is due to it being investment money. The point that 47 percent do not pay federal income taxes shows me that they probably don't have enough income, and I would wish those people could have better jobs and so on. How our federal income taxes are spent is a concern, also. Confiscating the wealth of those having ten million or more would not keep our government operational for more than a month, for example.